Gage Roads Brewery is under fire for pulling the plug on a John Butler-headlined gig at the last minute, with the musician accusing the venue of bowing to political pressure—claims the brewery strongly denies.
The free concert, Freo for a Frack Free Kimberley, was set to take place on Thursday at Gage Roads, featuring Butler alongside Noah Dillon and Kimberley artist Wil Thomas. However, on February 2nd, it was abruptly announced that the event had been relocated to Port Beach Brewery in North Fremantle.
Butler took to social media in a now-deleted video, alleging that Gage Roads had backed out due to the political nature of the event. “Gage Roads cancelled the event and pulled out saying they didn’t know it was so political and they didn’t do political events,” he said. “Everyone knew the night was an awareness concert. It was pretty obvious what the night was about—the name kinda gave it away.”
He further pointed out that the venue had just hosted a campaign launch for two local State Labor politicians, including Premier Roger Cook. “Oh but wait,” Butler remarked. “They just launched Simone McGurk’s campaign for election. Featuring our Premier Roger Cook, but Gage Roads don’t do political events. Did someone get a little call from a powerful mate? Just asking for a friend.”
Aaron Heary, executive director of Good Drinks Australia (which owns Gage Roads Brewing), defended the decision, insisting it was a logistical issue rather than a political one. “The event we agreed to initially was not what was eventually planned and advertised,” Heary told PerthNow.
Heary explained that the brewery had agreed to a music-only event with some Frack Free merchandise and awareness materials. “Over the weekend, promotional materials were published, and it came to our attention that the promoters were planning a number of public speakers from community groups that would be delivering speeches. We felt that multiple speeches delivered throughout the venue’s sound system would create a rally-type atmosphere, which would interfere with the ambience on the evening.”
Concerns over crowd size also played a role. “We also formed a view that the event would likely exceed the capacity of the venue and that many of those who came for the event or for dinner would not be able to get in. For these reasons, we decided it would be best for the organisers to move the event to a venue that was more fit for purpose.”
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Heary also pushed back against Butler’s claims of hypocrisy, explaining that the Labor campaign launch had been a private function. “It was for a short duration using a separate entrance, the venue music and ambience was not disrupted, and there were no concerns about exceeding capacity,” he said.
Despite the controversy, Heary said Gage Roads helped facilitate the venue change and wished Butler and his team success. “The Port Beach Brewery space will be far more suitable, and we wish John and the organisers all the best for their event.”
Butler, however, had the last word. “Better venue. Better values. See ya, Gage Roads—disappointed but not surprised.”
